Course Syllabus

The first course of a two-semester sequence of Applied Physics. This course covers Newtonian mechanics and includes motion, vectors, Newton's laws, work and conservation of energy, systems of particles, collisions, equilibrium, oscillations and waves asnd heat.This is a 3 credit course.

 Course Goals

The main aim of this course is to introduce you to some seminal concepts in physics we find around us. By the end of this course, you will have a better understanding of several phenomenon you see around you - the trajectory of a football, forces and accelerations, friction, collisions, the melting of ice etc. . You will learn transferable skills and by the end of the course be able to:

1. Analyze particular physical situations in order to make successful predictions about their future behavior. Identifying the fundamental principles pertinent to those situations will be key to your success in meeting this objective.
2. Apply fundamental principles to formulate mathematical equations describing the relation between physical quantities in these particular situations.
3. Solve mathematical equations to find the values of physical quantities.
4. Communicate unambiguously orally and in writing, both the principles that apply to a situation and the results of specific calculations resulting from the steps above.

Expectation From StudentS: 

In order to achieve the learning outcomes stated above, you are expected to:

• Attend lecture. This is very important! We will talk extensively about the physics concepts and learn the problem-solving process.
• Complete the homework assignments to self–assess your understanding of the concepts and problem-solving strategies presented every week.
• Complete 5 in-class Group Work assignments over the course of the semester, as posted in the Course Schedule 
• Complete the Group Project with your assigned groupmates.
• Take two mid-term exams and the final.
• Seek help from me, the Learning Assistants (LAs) and your peers when you feel a little lost.
  
• Read the textbook sections assigned on the schedule.

This course is worth 3 credits, so you should expect to spend about 9 hours per week learning physics

Course Prerequisites

None.

• State Core: Natural Sciences
• UF: Physical Sciences (P)
  • You may read more about the P general education designation in the UF General Education Subject Area Objectives.
  • Note that a minimum grade of “C” is required for general education credit.

• Instructor
• Dr. Sujata Krishna
  
  • • Office: NPB 2249
    • Phone: (352) 392-3898
    • Office Hours: Thursdays, p4 and p5
    • Please send e-mail only to sujatakrishna@ufl.edu. I check this much more regularly than canvas message.

• Textbook
  • The required text is Physics: Principles with Applications by Douglas Giancoli, 7^thed, published by Pearson. The course is set up for an All-Access opt-in to purchase the text online for students who have registered in the course. Go to the opt-in login pageLinks to an external site. to get started, and refer to the Pearson MyLab and Mastering Instructions for additional help.
    
• Homework System
  • The required online homework system is Mastering Physics, access to which is included in the purchase of the online textbook described above. Access Mastering Physics using the link provided in the Canvas course; note that it is called 'My Lab and Mastering' in the left-hand navigation.  You must register your access code from the Canvas course.
• iClicker
  • Part of your grade is calculated based on your in-class participation. You will use the iClicker Cloud system to participate. This software is free to UF students and can be used on either a computer or mobile device. Note that you must create an account/login with your UF email address. Further details about your iClicker grade can be found below in the Course Policies section.
    
  • You will need to bring either a laptop or mobile device with you to class in order to participate in the clicker questions. If this poses a hardship for you, please reach out to me ASAP so that we can find an appropriate solution.

  • You are required to participate with the iClicker Cloud app on a smartphone, tablet or laptop. It is your responsibility to follow the steps below to properly register your iClicker account in a timely fashion. It is also your responsibility to regularly check your iClicker records for any discrepancies.

    In order to participate in iClicker activities and ensure that your grades are properly reflected in the gradebook, follow the steps below:

    1. Log in to the Canvas course and click the iClicker link in the PHY2004 left sidebar. If you do not already have an iClicker account, you will need to create one. It’s free!

    • If you already have an iClicker account, sign in. DO NOT create a new account. You can only receive credit from one account.
    • When creating your iClicker account, make sure you enter your name and email exactly as they appear in Canvas. Add your Gatorlink username in the “Student ID” field. Click here to create your iclicker account Links to an external site..
    • When prompted to register a remote, you can Skip This Step if you are not using a handheld remote. Handheld remotes only work while answering questions in the lecture hall.

    2. Set up the device(s) you’ll use to participate in our synchronous lectures.

    • You can download the iClicker cloud app via the App Store or Google Play, or you can use iClicker on your laptop.
    • If you have multiple devices, I recommend accessing our virtual class using your computer and participating in the iClicker questions using your mobile device.
    • If you only have one device, you can open up a new tab in your web browser for iClicker cloud, or switch back and forth between our virtual class and the iClicker cloud app.

    3. Now the fun part! Participate in iClicker class activities.

    • When it’s time for class, make sure you have selected this course from the main screen of your iClicker cloud account.
      • When the instructor starts a class session in iClicker, select the Join button that appears on your screen, then answer each question asked in iClicker cloud.
      • For short answer, numeric, and target questions, make sure you select Send.

    4. Review your work in iClicker cloud.

    • You can review your grades, performance, and participation in iClicker cloud.
    • Grades will be synced from iClicker cloud to Canvas on a regular basis. Please allow a week after lecture for the sync to occur. If you do not see scores in Canvas, you have not successfully completed step 1 above. The deadline for completing step 1 above is the last day of class for this semester (prior to reading days), but you are strongly advised to complete step 1 in the first two weeks of the semester.

    Academic Integrity Information

    iClicker activities fall under the provisions of our campus academic honesty policy. Students must not engage in academic dishonesty while participating in iClicker activities. This includes but is not limited to:

    • Having another student participate for you
    • Using more than one iClicker account at a time
    • Sending your answer to other students in any way.

    Any student found to be in violation of these rules will lose their iClicker points for the entire term and may be reported to the Dean of Student Discipline.

• Calculator
  • You may use any scientific or graphing calculator on the exams, as long as it does not have the ability to communicate with other devices electronically. Cell phones as calculators are not permitted, and use of them does constitute academic fraud. This includes the use of smartwatches; all smartwatches must be put away prior to the start of the exams
• Materials and Supply Fees: None

• • Canvas (Links to an external sit
    • Please contact the UFIT Help Desk:
      • (352) 392-HELP (4357)
      • http://helpdesk.ufl.edu (Links to an external site.)
      • helpdesk@ufl.edu
  • Mastering Physics
    • Please contact Pearson. (Links to an external site.) 

  • Need help with iClicker cloud?

    • • If you are having trouble with your iClicker cloud access code, check out this guide to access code errors Links to an external site..
      • If you are having issues connecting to iClicker cloud, check out these iClicker cloud connectivity tips Links to an external site..
      • If you are having issues seeing your iClicker cloud points, use this troubleshooting guide Links to an external site..
      • Find answers to many of your questions and contact the iClicker Tech Support Team by visiting com/support Links to an external site.at any time.

Disability Services

• Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the Disability Resource Center. It is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs as early as possible in the semester.
• Requesting an accommodation letter to be sent to instructors email address, sujatakrishna@ufl.edu, is sufficient for receiving accommodations, as long as the letter is received at least five working days prior to the deadline for assessments. Letters received less than five working days before the assignment deadline will have the accommodations applied for the next and subsequent assessments. This is because the DRC required 4 buiness days for an ATR to be approved.
• Exams:
  • Students requesting accommodations on exams must complete the testing center ATR prior to the four-business day deadline, as described on the DRC website. The start time for the exams will be according to the table below.

• Mastering Physics Accessibility Policy (Links to an external site.)
• Accessibility at UF
• Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the DRC office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations.
  • Failure to send a current accommodation letter before the three-working-day deadline is not a permitted excuse for taking a makeup exam.

Academic Honesty Policy and Honor Code

We go to great lengths to ensure that our Physics course is administered fairly, by setting clear goals (what is needed to attain each grade) at the outset, by providing materials (lectures, applets, homework, office hours, reviews) to help you reach those goals, and by assessing progress towards those goals using easily understood procedures (exams, quizzes, online homework). We pledge to do the best job we can to make the material understandable and to bring out the best in every student.

Course Policy

• Maintaining the integrity of the grading process demands fairness and compassion on our part and honor on your part. Accordingly, we take a very hard line on cheating in any form, including

1. 1. Providing or copying answers on exams or quizzes
   2. Taking an exam or quiz for another student
   3. Entering online homework answers for another student
   4. Distributing or copying exam or quiz questions
   5. Obtaining course homework solutions or software algorithms from external sources, including websites or companies that give away or sell such solutions or algorithms.

• Any person caught cheating in any form will fail the entire course automatically and will be subject to Honor Court penalties. Furthermore, we expect students not to tolerate cheating of any kind and to report incidents to your instructors.

Honor Code

The Dean of Students Office  has a detailed discussion about academic honesty and the University of Florida Honor Code, which was adopted by the Student Council.  The Honor Code says

We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied:

"On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment."

• SOFTWARE USE
  • All faculty, staff, and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use.  Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator.  Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.  We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to uphold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
• STUDENT PRIVACY
  • There are federal laws protecting your privacy with regards to grades earned in courses and on individual assignments.  For more information, please see the FERPA (Links to an external site.) page by the Registrar.
•  Surveys:  There will be surveys in this the introductory-level courses. For surveys with conceptual questions no preparation is required. The initial survey is designed as a benchmark and will help me teach better. You will receive full points for completion of the surveys, you will not receive a grade for these surveys. 

• ATTENDANCE POLICY:  

  Excused absences and allowances for make-up work are consistent with university policies in the undergraduate catalog  (https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/attendance-policies/#absencestext  Links to an external site.and require appropriate documentation.

  You are expected to attend the lectures and attempt the online reading quizzes, homework, and exams in their assigned format by their assigned deadlines. You are also expected to interact with the instructor, learning assistants, and with your fellow students through discussions. You are expected to fully engage with content material through activities and assignments in the course. from past experience, those who attend regularly and complete all assigned work and participate fully, seldom fail.

  ICLICKER POLICY: iClicker questions may be used during any class period after MLK Day. This means attendance in person is required. While attendance is tracked through iclicker there are not attendance points. You can score 2 points by correctly answering a clicker question, and 1 point by responding to a clicker question incorrectly. Additionally, I will add 20 points to your iclicker points to account for any absences. This will take care of all excused absences. This typically corresponds to 10 classes. This will take care of excused absences.  It is your responsibility to register your clicker before MLK Day and to be ready to participate in graded clicker questions during any class after that. Forgetting your device or a non-functioning is not an acceptable excuse. Technical problems must be resolved with iClicker support. 

  ASSIGNMENT POLICY: Homework, reading quiz, and exam dates are as stated in the syllabus. Occasionally minor modifications to these dates may be made but never without at least one weeks’ notice. Due dates may be pushed back but will not be brought forward without in-class discussion.

  HOMEWORK POLICY: Homework sets are completed online through Mastering Physics at any time between the opening of the assignment and the deadline announced in the course calendar. These assignments are not timed or proctored, but they are subject to the UF Policy on Academic Misconduct (see below).

  It is permissible to seek assistance or collaborate on homework with other students, outside help or your instructor. This assistance may include help with interpreting the problem, identifying relevant information in the textbook or course videos, or identifying one’s errors.  No credit is available for late assignments. 

  EXAM POLICY:  Two mid-term exams and a cumulative final exam will be delivered. Midterms are during class time. The final exam will be longer than a class period, exact length to be announced closer to the exam date.  Exams are not collaborative and are completed alone.  Student honor code policies apply to honesty. You are responsible for checking ahead of time that you come prepared for the exam with the right materials such as calculator, formula sheet etc. See announcements in Canvas for the materials permitted for each exam. For each of the exams, you are permitted to bring a 1-page formula sheet with equations only. No diagrams or words allowed. You must submit this sheet with your exam via canvas upload. You must also submit all scratch work done during the exam. This serves as your proof of attempt and will only be looked at if your exam is flagged for any policy violations. Scratch work does not need to be neat.

  CLASS DISCUSSION: The class will be interactive and you are expected to participate by answering and asking physics questions.  

  GROUP WORK(GW): The purpose of this activity is to strengthen your problem-solving skills, team work skills and your physics communication skills. You will learn to work in a team, which is the way most science is conducted these days. Groups will be assigned in class and you are expected to fully participate in group work in this course. This will take the form of working with your classmates during class to prepare for an exam by working through assigned problems together. Assessment of group work occurs during a pre-announced GW session for each group. You may not be absent on your date of assessment. You are not assessed during each GW, though attendance is required for each GW.  For any unexcused absence in a GW session you will lose a point on your GW grade (-1) at the end of the semester.  The more you engage with your group and your Learning Assistant (LA) the better you will engage with the course. The GW assessment rubric will be available with or before the GW. The same grade is given to the entire group, other than the attendance points. There is an on-the-spot set of 2 questions to a random member of the group. It is in your best interests to make sure each person in the group fully understands how a problem is being worked out. You may have access to a Learning Assistant (LA) during your group work for part of the time. An LA is a trained undergraduate that has completed this course or an equivalent course. An LA is not there to grade you. They are not there to do the questions on the worksheet, but they will help facilitate your group discussion. In the past several students have found this extremely helpful, and research shows that such active learning in class with peers is beneficial to student success in the course.

• AUDIOVISUAL RECORDING POLICY: Students are allowed to record video or audio of class lectures. However, the purposes for which these recordings may be used are strictly controlled. The only allowable purposes are (1) for personal educational use, (2) in connection with a complaint to the university, or (3) as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding. All other purposes are prohibited. Specifically, students may not publish recorded lectures without the written consent of the instructor.

  A “class lecture” is an educational presentation intended to inform or teach enrolled students about a particular subject, including any instructor-led discussions that form part of the presentation, and delivered by any instructor hired or appointed by the University, or by a guest instructor, as part of a University of Florida course. A class lecture does not include lab sessions, student presentations, clinical presentations such as patient history, academic exercises involving solely student participation, assessments (quizzes, tests, exams), field trips, private conversations between students in the class or between a student and the faculty or lecturer during a class session. Publication without permission of the instructor is prohibited. To “publish” means to share, transmit, circulate, distribute, or provide access to a recording, regardless of format or medium, to another person (or persons), including but not limited to another student within the same class section. Additionally, a recording, or transcript of a recording, is considered published if it is posted on or uploaded to, in whole or in part, any media platform, including but not limited to social media, book, magazine, newspaper, leaflet, or third party note/tutoring services. A student who publishes a recording without written consent may be subject to a civil cause of action instituted by a person injured by the publication and/or discipline under UF Regulation 4.040 Student Policy on Course Syllabi 3 UF, Academic Affairs, August 5th, 2021 Honor Code and Student Conduct Code.

• Grade Components:
  • Your grade is determined by the different kinds of assignments listed above in the following proportions:

• Letter Grades:
  • Letter grades are determined from your point score using the following table.

  • The following grading standards will be used in this class:

    A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D+	D	D-	E
    ≥85.00	80.00	75.00	70.00	65.00	60.00	55.00	50.00	45.00	40.00	35.00	<35.00

  • A minimum grade of C is required for general education credit (Gen ed pass)
  • For information on how UF assigns grade points, visit https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/grades-grading-policies/

• Attendance and Missed Work:
  • Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work are consistent with University Attendance Policies (Links to an external site.). For a foreseeable absence, it is your responsibility to identify yourself as requiring an accommodation at least one week prior to the absence.
  • Attending lectures is required and counts from the first class meeting. Acceptable reasons for absence include: illness, serious family emergencies, special curricular requirements (e.g. judging trips, field trips, professional conferences), military obligation, severe weather conditions, religious holidays, court-imposed legal obligations, and participation in official university activities such as music performances, athletic competition or debate. Excused absences must be documented. The documentation for foreseeable absences like official university activities should be submitted ahead of time.
  • HW and RQ deadlines are not extended under any circumstances. Your lowest HW and RQ will be dropped to allow for the occasional mishap.
  • IClicker points do not have excused absence-makeup policy. A blanket 20 points are added to everyones points at the end of the semester to make up for any excused absences. For the first 2 weeks of class there is a technology practice period. Points start counting after that. It is your responsibility to make sure your iclicker works correctly. 
  • GW: It is difficult to make up GW. Try not to miss this active learning session. You may have 1 absence on a non-assessed GW day. Absence during the assesssment day will result in a zero or a make-up depending on excuse documentation.
  • Absences due to circumstances listed above during scheduled exams will necessitate you to request a makeup exam. Makeups are to be taken within one week of returning to class. Failure to do so will result in a zero for the assignment. Unexcused absences are not entitled to makeup assessments. Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies.
    • To request a makeup, please email your instructor with your name, th exam you are requesting to make up, and the documented reason for your request

Each lecture covers a specific set of sections in the textbook and will include problems worked out in detail. You will be asked to work out some problems during lecture and report your answer using iClicker for bonus points. 

After lecture, you will be set to start the homework problems relating to the lecture and the sections covered in the book.  Homework is submitted on-line in My Lab and Mastering.  This is your chance to learn and practice the material for yourself. Solutions to the problems are available after the due date in the homework system.

Most weeks you will take a Reading Quiz relating to the chapter. This is your chance to test your mastery of the concepts.

The order of lecture, homework, and reading quiz repeats.   There are three exams, which will evaluate your mastery of the course material.

If you want to learn a particular sport, like basketball for example, you have to practice and play the game. You can’t just watch others play the game, although you can learn things from watching other people play.

The same is true of physics. You can learn something by watching the instructors do problems, but ultimately you have to practice yourself. In this course the homework is where you practice. Your goal should not be to just get the right answers, but to learn and ultimately master how to do the problems. 

• Tip #1: Try to do the homework yourself first.
  • If you get stuck, review your notes, the lecture recording, and the textbook. If you are still stuck, consult with an instructor, a TA, the UF Teaching Center, or one of your friends in the class. There is no point in staying spinning your wheels and making no progress. You can go to any of the large number of office hours that we have per week (see Disc. Sect. + Office Hours in Canvas).  We can also recommend the UF Teaching Center.
• Tip #2: After you get the right answer, go back and make sure you understand how and why you got the answer.
  • The homework is submitted numerically online with multiple attempts allowed. There is a tendency to just try stuff because you get multiple attempts. Also, the first time you do a problem, you may not do it in the most direct manner. A right answer does not necessarily mean mastery of the material.
  • The material in this course is cumulative, meaning that the material in week 1 is used in week 2, and the material in week 10 uses the material in weeks 1-9. Hence, you need to learn one topic before you can do the next one.
• Tip #3: Work out the problems by writing each step down.
  • Early in the course the problems may be doable using just your calculator without writing anything down. Eventually this will not be possible. It is good to get in the habit of writing down your work. The instructors will model this in class. It is far easier to check your work once it is written down, than to have to redo a problem to check it.
• Tip #4: Stay current in the course.
  • It will be more efficient to do a little homework after each lecture than to wait until Saturday to even look at the homework. Everyone is busy with lots of deadlines, but by doing a little work several times a week, you will actually spend less time overall on the homework because you are mastering the material as we go along.
• Tip #5: Memorize or learn the process not the problem.
  • You will do over many homework problems, and you can do others at the end of the chapter, if you wish. Nonetheless, the exam questions will not be identical to any of these problems. However, the thought process to do the problems in the exam will be identical to those used in the homework and the past exams.
  • This course is about problem solving, which means taking different pieces of information, in our case physical laws and equations, and putting them together to solve problems. Practicing scientists, engineers and medical doctors are valued for their ability to solve problems – not to look up information, which can be done with a computer search. Throughout the course we will emphasize problem solving.

Lecture Slides Notes link to slides Pre- and Post- Lecture

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at GatorEvals. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via Bluera.  Bluera. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at GatorEvals Public Results.

Health and Wellness

• U Matter, We Care:
  • If you or a friend is in distress, please contact umatter@ufl.edu or 352 392- 1575 so that a team member can reach out to the student.
• Counseling and Wellness Center: 392-1575; and the University Police Department: 392-1111 or 9-1-1 for emergencies.
• Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS) Student Health Care Center, 392-1161.
• University Police Department, 392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).
• UF Student Success:
  • For improving study skills to connecting with a peer tutor, peer mentor, success coach, academic advisor, and wellness resources.

Academic Resources

• E-learning technical support, 352-392-4357 (select option 2) or e-mail to Learning- support@ufl.edu.
• Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601. Career assistance and counseling.
• Library Support, various ways to receive assistance with respect to using the libraries or finding resources.
• Teaching Center, Broward Hall, 392-2010 or 392-6420. General study skills and tutoring.
• Writing Studio, 302 Tigert Hall, 846-1138. Help brainstorming, formatting, and writing papers.
• Student Complaints

 Disclaimer

This syllabus represents current plans and objectives. As we go through the semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning opportunity. Such changes, communicated clearly, are not unusual and should be expected.